Nasty, harsh, painful dirt - on a budget

[coldbrightsunlight]

Of course if he just isn't that into that sort of noisy thing, you might be surprised how much you'd enjoy playing tunes that are more his style. I've had some great times playing with people that had a very different aesthetic to me and bending to their tastes a bit, which at first I didn't love but ended up enjoying playing even if the music wasn't really me.

[braaandooon]

Berhinger Super Fuzz or a DOD death metal can get you harsh on the cheaps

I was gonna say the Behri Super Fuzz and their HM-2 clone.

I think everybody else has a point about getting your guitarist to own his stuff. Maybe have an icebreaker warm up ritual first song where you both play a bit loose and lazy and boldly own those clams like you meant them. It may be easier if it's something you don't mind screwing up or even mocking, like bad pop music or TV theme songs. It might also loosen up his willingness to engage in sonic mangling with his tones.

Kinda funny you bring that up, we've been playing a crusty take on adele's rolling in the deep. People fucking love it.

[jrmy]

Of course if he just isn't that into that sort of noisy thing, you might be surprised how much you'd enjoy playing tunes that are more his style. I've had some great times playing with people that had a very different aesthetic to me and bending to their tastes a bit, which at first I didn't love but ended up enjoying playing even if the music wasn't really me.

This is a great idea, as are all of the bits about sitting and chatting about stylistic stuff in general. Have you guys ever sat and talked about musical tastes in general? I've occasionally made mixes for my bandmate to explain musical touchpoints - it's way easier to say "I like how the guitar sits in song X" when they can actually listen to song X for comparison. If you really love a band like, say, Swans or Godspeed You Black Emperor, and your bandmate has only listened to Rush and Yes, it might be tough to discuss the actual sorts of sounds you like without playing him the albums you reference.

Of course, that can sometimes be offputting as well, because people can have a hard time knowing what to focus on when you play them completed music... soooooooo take that advice lightly. Maybe a little listening, followed by a little jamming, followed by a little pedal exploration...

[D.o.S.]

Not to pile on the bandwagon, but I think there's a lot of truth to what's being said in this thread. Trying to force someone into something is very rarely a meaningful musical partnership tool.

[neonblack]

The thing is, he really wants to play guitar to my noisy stuff. When I suggest we play something else he's like "but I like your stuff." He plays in a couple other, more chill projects and I think he wants to play this aggressive stuff because he doesn't get to often.

I'm not really trying to force anything on him besides some dirt. His style is good, and he's brought a couple songs to the table that turned out to be really interesting.

I've made changes though. He asked me to keep it simple. Less time and tempo changes. He also asked me to cut some treble out so I'm not stepping on his toes.

However, he has mentioned before that he doesn't think I really need him.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Didn't mean to judge it without knowing the whole situation, if he's cool with the style generally then get him to try some cool fuzz and maybe that's all you need!

[BLOOD EAGLE]

Berhinger Super Fuzz or a DOD death metal can get you harsh on the cheaps

The no-fi GZ in BST should get you there in spades.

there are lots of good deals from ilf b/s/t
i just picked up an ibanez fz7, not an incredible pedal on it's own, but i love what it does when i stack it before a muff or a pickle....

[kbit]

I've made changes though. He asked me to keep it simple. Less time and tempo changes.

BOOO HISSSSS jk

Good on you to be accomidating. I hope yall can find a happy medium.

Also, aformentioned Berhinger super Fuzz and DOD Death Metal are dope on bass, just in case it doesnt work out

[jrmy]

Yeah, no judgeyness meant - just figured that engaging him with some external examples might be a good way to get him to be more pro-active about his dirt.

Also, if you're just looking for cheeps, how about some Mooer-type stuff?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zuCV0_yAnQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoj7leEDgkQ[/youtube]

Yeah, the playing styles here opt for the bloozlawyerclassicrocks, but you get the idea. Hell, get em both and stack for gain on gain on gain...

[Uncle Grandfather]

maybe a jordan bosstone clone? or the buzz tone or cal tone. they are all pretty treble heavy in that vintage fuzz tone sort of way. or maybe a Maestro Fuzztone fz-1(a) clone, that being the first production fuzz pedal might make it a fine starting point for his journey into fuzz
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agkk24RauCA[/youtube]

[neonblack]

I've made changes though. He asked me to keep it simple. Less time and tempo changes.

BOOO HISSSSS jk

Good on you to be accomidating. I hope yall can find a happy medium.

Also, aformentioned Berhinger super Fuzz and DOD Death Metal are dope on bass, just in case it doesnt work out

Trust me, its been hard.

The thing that really keeps me wanting to play with him is how enthusiastic he is about my songs. I've played stuff for him that he just flips out about. I've had other people come up and tell me he's let them hear some of our rough practice space recordings and they loved them even though they aren't normally into noisy stuff. I dunno, it makes me feel good.

And he has a really good sense of what sounds good with my bass parts. He plays kind of minimally which goes well with my maximalist playing Which is why I think he should be heard.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I didn't think you were being judgey. I'm definitely going to mess with some of the cheaper dirt boxes I find. Stacking and such. Might hit up the pawn shop.

I've also been wanting to do some DIY stuff. I've been looking at vero layouts online. I might build him a couple things to practice.

There's one I found called the Octave Up Sick Box (O.U.S.B.) that sounds downright NASTY. I wanna build it in a box with a repeat percussion/hummingbird clone with the trem part on a momentary footswitch.

[goroth]

What about you wait until you get a drummer. I dunno, but having bass as the main distorted smash everything instrument, and guitar as the plinky plonky filling out thing instrument could sound rad, and maybe a drummer who belt the fuck out of the drums could tie it all together? Like, turn the "bass holding down the rhythm section guitars do all the flashy stuff" dichotomy on its head.

[neonblack]

What about you wait until you get a drummer. I dunno, but having bass as the main distorted smash everything instrument, and guitar as the plinky plonky filling out thing instrument could sound rad, and maybe a drummer who belt the fuck out of the drums could tie it all together? Like, turn the "bass holding down the rhythm section guitars do all the flashy stuff" dichotomy on its head.

That sounds pretty rad.

I'm about to invest in a drum machine. All the good drummers here are taken.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Yeah I also think there's legs to the heavy bass + clean(ish) guitars idea.

[BoatRich]

Yeah I also think there's legs to the heavy bass + clean(ish) guitars idea.

Guernica by Brand New convinced me of this a while ago. I've always wanted to see a band where that was done more heavily